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In this episode of The Germinate Podcast, Joe Sampson sits down with Lon Stroschein for a deeply personal conversation about career success, identity, purpose, and what happens when the life you’ve worked so hard to build no longer feels like the life you’re supposed to be living.
Lon speaks directly to professionals who appear to have everything they once wanted. They have successful careers, financial stability, families, respected titles, and years of accomplishments behind them. Yet somewhere along the way, many begin to feel a growing sense that there might be something more. Lon describes the tension of reaching the height of your professional career while quietly questioning whether continuing on the same path is really what you want.
Drawing from his own experience, Lon shares what it was like to reach the top of his career in agriculture. His work took him around the world, from major companies and organizations to agricultural regions in Brazil, South Africa, Kazakhstan, and beyond. He loved the people, the experiences, and the opportunities his career provided. But despite that success, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something had changed. Another acquisition, customer, bonus, or promotion wasn’t going to solve it.
Joe and Lon explore the identity that often comes with being the person everyone depends on. Successful professionals become problem solvers for their companies, customers, employees, spouses, and children. Lon explains how difficult it can be for those people to admit that they might be the ones struggling or wanting something different. Sometimes the hardest question isn’t whether you’ve succeeded, but whether you’ve reached the end of what a particular chapter can offer you.
The conversation turns to Lon’s decision to leave his executive career after his company was acquired by CNH Industrial. Rather than viewing that moment as quitting, Lon began to recognize it as a finish line. He had accomplished what he was there to accomplish, and staying simply because the job was comfortable would have meant ignoring the possibility of what could come next. Joe and Lon discuss just how intimidating that transition can be when it means walking away from a steady paycheck, benefits, status, and the security professionals spend decades building.
One of the most personal moments of the episode comes when Lon shares a conversation with his wife that helped change the direction of his life. She recognized that he was struggling before he was willing to fully admit it himself. Instead of asking him to protect the lifestyle they had built, she encouraged him to pursue the work where she saw him come alive: teaching, coaching, and helping other people navigate their own transitions. For Lon, that conversation changed not only what he believed was possible, but also how he thought about partnership and asking the people closest to us what they want for us, rather than assuming what they want from us.
Joe and Lon also discuss Lon’s book, The Trade, and why its message can feel uncomfortable for people who recognize themselves in his story. Lon is clear that his message isn’t about encouraging everyone to immediately quit their job or blow up the life they’ve built. Instead, it’s about being willing to acknowledge when you’ve outgrown something and starting the difficult conversations necessary to figure out what comes next.
Ultimately, this conversation isn’t about leaving a career. It’s about recognizing when success has stopped feeling like fulfillment and giving yourself permission to ask what you actually want from the next chapter. Joe and Lon explore the fear, uncertainty, relationships, and courage involved in making that shift, while reminding listeners that sometimes moving forward doesn’t require having the entire plan figured out. It simply requires being willing to start.
